Gael ferdinand haupt



(No Model.)

C. P. HAUPT.

ZITHBR.

No. 352,648. Patented Nov. 16, 1886.

c b 5 (L 0a u o o o o u o u o o o a mw JM. M7 /amf .7S/ M0 df/ ew/7% //l UNITEDV STATES PATENT OEEicE.

OARL FERDINAND HAUPT, OF DRESDEN, `SAXONY, GERMANY.

ZITHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,648, dated November 16, 1886.

.Application tiled March 31, 1885. Serial No. 160,544. (No model.) Patentedin Germany January 29. 1885, No. 32,319, and in England March 13, 1885, No. 3,281.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CARL FERDINAND HAUPT,

`of the city of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxn ony and German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Ar rangement of the AccompanyingStrings on Zithers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the arrangement oi' the accompaniment strings on Zithers, (for which I have obtained patents in Germany January 29, 1885, No. 32,319, and in EnglandMareh 13, 1885, No. 3, 231,) the object of which is to so arrange the parts ot' the said Zithers that the hand in playing has an easy natural position and the fingers are in no way hampered.

In all zithers known up to the present day the accompaninient-strings run or are strung parallel to the tinger-board or air-strings, so that the muscles ofthe hand must be subjected to great tension in playing the strings which lie at a considerable distance from the finger.- board, which is especially diiiicult for beginners, and forces the hand to take up an entirely unnatural position.

Figure 1 is a top view, Eig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 an end view,of myimproved Zither.

According to my invention as represented in the accompanying drawings, all these disadvantages are overcome, the iingers can be employed for playing the strings without leaving their natural position, and without having to fear that a cramp will be caused in the muscles of the hand, as so frequently occurs in I playing zit-hers constructed on the old principle. I attain this object by stringing the aecompaniment-strings a in inclined or acute angular' position to the linger-board strings b, according to the structure ol" thehand,whereby the requisite angle can be readily ascertained by spreading ont the thumb from the fingers.

In order to prevent having to increase the size of the instrument beyond what is absolutely necessary, the finger-board c is raisedA and the'neighboriug two or more accompaniment -strings a attached beneath the same. This raising ofthe finger-board o corresponds entirely with the natural position, as the fin 'gers occupy a lower posit-ion than the thumbs.

Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, what I claim, and` desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The Zither provided with the accompaninientstrings a at an acute angle to the fingerboard o and the air-strings b, substantially as set forth in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

2. The Zither provided with the 4finger-board elevated above the accompaniment-strings, and the accompaniment-strings nearest the ringer-board located lower than or beneath the same, substantially asset forth in the foregoing specificationr and shown in the accompanying drawings.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL FERDINAND HAUPT. 

